Leaving Vietnam: From ESL Student to Teacher

September 25, 2015

Thi Thi knows what it’s like to learn a second language out of necessity. Perhaps that is what makes her such a great teacher - when she walks into the ESL classroom, Thi Thi can picture herself as a student because she once was one.

Thi Thi came to the United States with her parents and five siblings in 1987. She was thirteen years old. Born in Vietnam, Thi Thi grew up during the aftermath of the Fall of Saigon, the event that signaled the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975. According to Thi Thi, despite the war’s end, Vietnam was rife with fear and anxiety.